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  • 标题:Information needs and seeking behavior of law faculty members: a survey of the University of Peshawar and its affiliated law colleges.
  • 作者:Khan, Ghalib ; Bhatti, Rubina
  • 期刊名称:Library Philosophy and Practice
  • 印刷版ISSN:1522-0222
  • 出版年度:2012
  • 期号:August
  • 语种:English
  • 出版社:University of Idaho Library
  • 关键词:Academic libraries;College faculty;College teachers;Information-seeking behavior;Universities and colleges;University and college libraries

Information needs and seeking behavior of law faculty members: a survey of the University of Peshawar and its affiliated law colleges.


Khan, Ghalib ; Bhatti, Rubina


Introduction

Legal education is a multi-disciplined and multi-purpose education. It aims at developing skilled human resources to strengthen the legal system and has a major role in national reconstruction, development and social change (Sathe, 1989). Information has become a critical factor in the field of legal education; that is why the legal academic community is more dependent on information than most other professionals.

Information-seeking behavior research has contributed to developments in information literacy (Foster, 2005) and the determination of information needs help in the development of information centres and planning appropriate library sources and facilities. Information need is the feeling of insufficiency of knowledge to solve a problem. Under such circumstances when a user consults an information system or library for his/her information needs, this action constitutes their information seeking behaviour (Nasreen, 2006).

Law faculty members impart legal knowledge to the students' community to equip them with sound legal knowledge and skills. They teach different subjects at a time and are engaged in different legal academic activities; therefore, their information needs are diverse and vast. Law library is the most widely-used source of information available to them. Law librarians need to have awareness of the kinds of information being sought by them and how it can be obtained.

The exponential growth of legal literature, interdisciplinary nature of law subjects, their relationship & interdependence, widespread legal research activities and rapid dissimilation of legal research products are the main reasons distinguishing law faculty members from the rest of the social sciences researchers and faculty members, therefore, investigation of their information needs and seeking behavior is very much important.

The literature of information needs and seeking behavior of faculty members is wide-ranging; however, no study has been undertaken in the North West Frontier Province (NWFP) (presently Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK)) or in Pakistan on the subject. The aim of this study is to investigate the information needs and seeking behavior of law faculty members which is a survey of the Law College, University of Peshawar and seventeen (17) affiliated Law Colleges Khayber Pakhtookhawa (North Western Frontier Post NWFP, Pakistan). (Total 18).

Research Methodology

Data was collected through a structured and pilot tested questionnaire. The population of the study consists of 128 law faculty members. The questionnaire was distributed among one hundred (100) randomly selected law faculty members. The response rate was (86%) with 6(7%) females and 80(93%) males. The collected data were analysed through SPSS software version 16.

Research Questions

* What are the actual educational and informational needs of the law faculty members?

* What kinds of information are being required by them and what kinds of methods are used by them for seeking their needed information?

* What is the law faculty members' response towards information and telecommunication technologies i.e. internet, IT and ICT?

* Are the law libraries' of the concerned legal institutes'/colleges' services users' oriented?

* What is the perception of the law faculty members regarding the attitude of the library staff?

* What kinds of problems are faced by the law faculty members and what steps law librarians and administration of the concerned law colleges should take to solve the problems of the law faculty members?

Review of Related Studies

Many studies have been conducted to investigate the information needs and seeking behavior of individuals and groups of individuals based on their subject interest, environment, occupation and geographical location. Information needs and seeking behavior of academics have been a popular area of research (Majid and Kasim, 2000). This review focuses on the studies of information needs and seeking behavior of law faculty members but also includes similar studies which examine the same variables included in this study.

Majid and Kasim (2000) explored the information seeking behavior of the law faculty members at the International Islamic University of Malaysia (IIUM). Finding revealed that IIUM law faculty members used a verity of information sources for academic and research purposes. Personal collection was consulted by them before resorting to other information centres and libraries. IT based sources were commonly used by them in their information search and retrieval. The study concluded that law faculty member were satisfied with the collections, services and facilities of IIUM library in meeting their required information needs effectively.

A similar kind of study was conducted by Thanuskodi (2009) at Central Law College, Salem, India. The study revealed that law faculty members preferred conventional sources of information over IT-based library resources and facilities for their academic and research purposes. They preferred personal collections while confronting an information need. On the whole, law faculty members were satisfied with the collection, sources and resources of the Central Law College, Salem's library.

Makri, Blandford and Cox (2008) investigated the information seeking behavior of academic lawyers. The aim of this study was to know about the tendency of academic lawyers towards electronic resources, legal databases and digital libraries. Findings show that academic lawyers mainly used set of electronic resources and digital law libraries and legal databases like LexisNexis and Westlaw for legal research. Nnadozie and Nnadozie (2008) carried out a study on the information needs of faculty members in a private Nigerian university. The main objective of this study was to find out the difference between the information needs of the faculty members of the private and public sector universities in Nigeria. Findings revealed no significant difference between the information needs of the faculty members of the two sector universities. Apart from other sources of information the usage of monographs and journals were common in them.

In Pakistan a number of studies on reading habits of different professional groups have been carried out by various individuals associations, and institutions which partly indicate their information needs. Khan, Bhatti and Khan, 2011 conducted a survey of information seeking behavior of law practitioners in Bahawalpur city. Inter use by social scientist was studied by Bhatti, Asghar, Mukhtar and Chohan in 2011. Bhatti (2009) conducted her study on the information needs and seeking behavior of the faculty members in the Islamia University of Bahawalpur. A doctorate level research was carried out by Nasreen in 2006 which focused on the information needs and information seeking behaviors of the Media Practitioners in Karachi.

Data Analysis

Personal Profile of the Respondents

The first section of the questionnaire dealt with the personal information of the respondents. They were asked to indicate their gender, employment status, qualification and experience.

Gender of the Respondents

The response rate by gender was 6(7%) female and 80(93%) male (Table 1).
Table 1: Frequency Distribution of Respondent's Gender

S.No  Gender  Number  Percentage

1.    Male        80        93.0

2.    Female       6         7.0

      Total       86       100.0


Employment Status

A significant number of law faculty members 51(59.3%) were visiting faculty. The ratio of respondents by designation was as: lecturers 16(18.6%), assistant professor 8(9.3%), associate professor 2(2.3%), and professors 9(10.5%) respectively (Table 2).
Table 2: Frequency Distribution of the Respondent's Employment Status

S.No.  Designation          Number  Percentage

1.     Lecturer                 16        18.6

2.     Assistant Professor       8         9.3

3.     Associate Professor       2         2.3

4.     Professor                 9        10.5

5.     Visiting                 51        59.3

       Total                    86       100.0


Qualification of the Respondents

Of 86 respondents, 51(59.3%) had LLB degrees, 22(25.6%) LL. M, 3(3.5%) an M.Phil and 10(11.6%) a Ph.D. degree (Table 3).
Table 3: Frequency Distribution of the Respondent's Qualification

S.No  Qualification  Number  Percentage

1.    L.L.B              51        59.3

2.    L.L.M              22        25.6

3.    M.Phil              3         3.5

4.    Ph.D.              10        11.6

      Total              86       100.0


Experience of the Respondents

The highest number of respondents 28(32.6%) have been teaching for less than 5 years. Twenty one (24.4%) were in range of 6-10, while 17(19.8%) in 21-25 years experience. Less than 10% of the faculty members have been teaching for more than 26 years (Table 4).
Table 4: Frequency Distribution of the Respondent's Experience

S.No  Experience          Number  Percentage

1.    Less than 5 years       28        32.6

2.    6-10 years              21        24.4

3.    11-15 years              6         7.0

4.    16-20 years              6         7.0

5.    21-25 years             17        19.8

6.    26 years and above       8         9.3

      Total                   86       100.0


Information about Libraries in Law Colleges

Provision of Law Libraries and its Usage in the Affiliated Law Colleges

Of 86 respondents, 83(96.5%) have libraries in their law colleges whereas 3(3.5%) have no such facility (Table 5).
Table 5: Provision of Law Libraries

S.No  Provision  Number  Percentage

1.    Yes            83        96.5

2.    No              3         3.5

      Total          86       100.0


Law Library Usage

Majority 81(98%) of the respondents use libraries for their educational and information purposes (Table 6).
Table 6: Law Library Usage (N=81)

S.No  Usage  Number  Percentage

1.    Yes        81        98.0

2.    No          2         2.0

      Total      83       100.0


Library Usage Skills

Most respondents rated their library using skills as "Fair" 35(40.7%) and "Good" 23(26.7%) (Table 7).
Table 7: Library Usage Skills

S.No  Skill Level  Number  Percentage

1.    Excellent         2         2.3

2.    Very Good        14        16.3

3.    Good             23        26.7

4.    Fair             35        40.7

5.    Poor              7         8.1

      Total            81       100.0


Stock Adequacy of Law Colleges' Libraries for Best Meeting their Users' Needs

Majority of the respondents rated their library stock "Moderate". It is interesting to note that 15.1% respondents were unaware of their library stock adequacy (Table 8).
Table 8: Stock Adequacy

S.No  Effectiveness Level        Number  Percentage

1.    Very Adequately Stocked         1         1.2

2.    Adequately Stocked             13        15.1

3.    Moderately Stocked             31        36.0

4.    Inadequately Stocked           15        17.4

5.    Very Inadequately Stocked      13        15.1

6.    Don't Know                     13        15.1

      Total                          86       100.0


Information - Seeking Behavior and Information Needs

Preferences of Information Sources when Seeking Information

The respondents were asked to identify the sources of information they use when seeking information. A vast majority of respondents relied on 'Text Books" (85%) followed by "General Books" (59%) (Table 9).
Table 9: Preferences of Information Sources when Seeking
Information (N=86)

S.No.  Information Sources                   Number  Percentage

1.     General Books                             51        59.3

2.     Text Books                                73        85.0

3.     Law Reports i.e. PLD, CLC ScMR etc        40        46.5

4.     Statutes                                  34        39.5

5.     Research Articles                         23        26.7

6.     Legal Digests                             24        27.9

7.     Theses and Dissertations                  15        17.4

8.     Research Reports                          19        22.1

9.     Journals                                  29        33.7

10.    Abstracting and Indexing sources           2         2.3

11.    Conference Abstracts and Proceedings       9        10.5

12.    Dictionaries                              50        58.1

13.    Encyclopaedias                            28        32.6

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Purposes of Information Seeking

Majority of the respondents 77(89.5%) sought information for "Preparing Lecturers" followed by "Updating Knowledge" 29(34%) and "Doing Research" 22(25.5%) respectively (Table 10).
Table 10: Purposes of Information Seeking (N=86)

S.No.  Purposes                  Number  Percentage

1.     For Preparing Lectures        77        89.5

2.     For Updating knowledge        29        34.0

3.     For doing Research            22        25.5

4.     For Doing LLM/M.Phil/PhD      10        12.0

5.     Entertainment                  6         7.0

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Preferences of Information Sources for Research and Publications

Majority of the respondents 64(74.4%) relied upon "General Books" for research and publications (Table 11).
Table 11: Preferences of Information Sources for Research &
Publications (N=86)

S.No  Information Sources                   Number  Percentage

1.    General Books                             64        74.4

2.    Text Books                                49        57.0

3.    Law Reports i.e. PLD, CLC ScMR etc        45        52.3

4.    Statutes                                  39        45.3

5.    Research Articles                         42        48.8

6.    Legal Digests                             27        31.4

7.    Theses and Dissertations                  28        32.6

8.    Research Reports                          29        33.7

9.    Journals                                  37        43.0

10.   Abstracting and Indexing sources           7         8.1

11.   Conference abstracts and proceedings      13        15.1

12.   Law Dictionaries                          50        58.1

13.   Law Encyclopedias                         44        51.2

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Information Seeking Patterns

To explore Law faculty's information seeking patterns, different questions were asked regarding their preferred language and format of materials, preferences of study places, library visits and channels and methods they employ for getting the required information.

Preferred Language

All the respondents 86(100%) preferred materials in English language for teaching, research and other academic purposes. Only 3(3.5%) mentioned Urdu language as their second choice for the same purpose (Table 12).
Table 12: Preferred Languages (N=86)

S.No  Languages  Number  Percentage

1.    English        86         100

2.    Urdu            3         3.5

3.    Other           0           0

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Preferred Information Formats

Most respondents 78(91%) preferred "Print" format followed by "Electronic" 35(41%) (Table 13).
Table 13: Preferred Formats (N=86)

S.No  Format                 Number  Percentage

1.    Print                      78        91.0

2.    Electronic                 35        41.0

3.    Audiovisual Materials       2         2.3

4.    Other                       0           0

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Preferences of Study Places

The response rate shows the trend of using "Home" (21 to 25 hours) much higher than any other places followed by "Offices" (16 to 20 hours) mentioned by 55% respondents respectively. The table is given for further details (Table 14).
Table 14: Preferences of Study Places (N=86)

                                            Hours
S.No.  Place     36-40    31-35    26-30    21-25    16-20

1.     Home     36(53%)  27(39%)  30(36%)  18(55%)  12(36%)

2.     Office   21(30%)  27(39%)  36(42%)  12(36%)  18(55%)

3.     Library    3(4%)  15(22%)  15(18%)    0(0%)    0(0%)

4.     Staff      6(9%)    0(0%)    3(4%)    0(0%)    0(0%)
       Room

5.     Other      3(4%)    0(0%)    0(0%)    3(9%)    3(9%)
       Places

S.No.  Place     11-15     6-10     1-5      1 or
                                             less

1.     Home     36(48%)  36(35%)  33(20%)    9(3%)

2.     Office   15(20%)  36(35%)  57(34%)  15(12%)

3.     Library       15       18       48  78(60%)
                  (20%)    (18%)    (29%)

4.     Staff     9(12%)    9(9%)   6 (4%)    9(7%)
       Room

5.     Other      0(0%)    3(3%)  21(13%)  18(14%)
       Places

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Preferences of Information Channels

Majority 51(69%) "Always" first resort to their "Personal Collections". Eighteen (33%) reported "Always" 9(16%) "Frequently" and 28(51%) "Occasionally" visit their "Law Colleges' Libraries" for meeting their information needs (Table 15).
Table No. 15: Preferences of Information Channels (N=86)

S.No  Channel        N   Always   Frequently  Occasionally

1.    College        55       18     9 (16%)      28 (51%)
      Library              (33%)

2.    Personal       74       51    18 (24%)        5 (7%)
      Collection           (69%)

3.    Book Stores    27   2 (7%)     6 (28%)      17 (63%)

4.    Colleagues     40  4 (10%)    20 (50%)      16 (40%)

5.    Internet       53       17    22 (42%)      14 (26%)
                           (32%)

6.    Consult        43  7 (16%)    17 (40%)      19 (44%)
      knowledgeable
      person in the
      field

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Methods of getting Information from the Library

Majority of the respondents with different frequencies, personally visit colleges' libraries for their information needs (Table 16).
Table 16: Methods of getting Information from the Library (N=86)

S.No  Methods                   N    Always   Frequently  Occasionally

1.    Going Library Personally  62  41 (66%)      4 (7%)      17 (27%)

2.    Calling the Library       18    1 (6%)     3 (16%)      14 (78%)

3.    Sending Students          17    0 (0%)      1 (6%)      16 (94%)

4.    Sending Support Staff     37   9 (24%)    11 (30%)      17 (46%)

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Library Visits

The data indicate that majority of the respondents 22(25.6%) visit their law colleges' libraries on "Daily" basis (Table 17).
Table 17: Library Visits (N=81)

S.No  Visits                     Frequency  Percentage

1.    Daily                             22        27.1

2.    Two or Three Times a Week         14        17.2

3.    Once in a Week                    13        16.1

4.    Once in a Month                   17        21.2

5.    Several Times a Year              14        17.2

6.    Never                              1         1.2

      Total                             81         100


IT Based Sources and Facilities

This section was designed to find out the computer skills of the Law faculty members, its usage in information search, e-mail communication, and provision of computers and internet in the respective Law colleges' libraries and their satisfaction level from it.

Use of Computers in Information Search

Of 86 respondents 73(85%), use computers in their search for information (Table 18).
Table 18: Computer Usage in Information Search (N=86)

S.No  Usage  Number  Percentage

1.    Yes        73        85.0

2.    No         13        15.0

      Total      86       100.0


Computer Skills

Respondents were asked to provide an assessment of their computer skills. Majority 28(32.6%) of the respondents rated it "Very Good" and 23(26.7%) "Good"(Table 19).
Table 19: Computer Skills (N=73)

S.No  Skills     Number  Percentage

1.    Excellent       3         4.1

2.    Very Good      28        38.3

3.    Good           23        31.5

4.    Fair           13        17.8

5.    Poor            6         8.2

      Total          73         100


Provision of Computer Facility in Law Colleges' Libraries

Of 73 respondents, 47(54.7%) were availing computer facility in their libraries, whereas 39(45.3%) had no such facility (Table 20).
Table No. 20: Computer Facility in Law College Libraries (N=86)

S.No  Availability of Computers  Number  Percentage

1.    Yes                            47        54.7

2.    No                             39        45.3

      Total                          86       100.0


Satisfaction from the provision of Computer facility

Of 47 respondents, 30(34.9%) were dissatisfied with this provision (Table 21).
Table 21: Satisfaction from the provision of Computer facility (N=47)

S.No  Satisfaction level  Number  Percentage

1.    Satisfied               17        36.0

2.    Dissatisfied            30        64.0

      Total                   47       100.0


Internet Usage

Of 86 respondents, 73(85%) have been using internet for their academic and research needs (Table 22).
Table 22: Internet Usage (N=86)

S.No  Internet Usage  Number  Percentage

1.    Yes                 73        84.9

2.    No                  13        15.1

      Total               86       100.0


Frequency of Internet Usage

Majority 44(51.2%) reported using internet on "Daily" basis followed by 11(12.8%) "At least once a week" (Table 23).
Table No. 23: Internet Usage Frequency (N=73)

S.No  Visits                              Number  Percentage

1.    Daily                                   44        60.2

2.    At Least Once a Week                    11        15.0

3.    At Least Two or Three Times a Week       2         2.7

4.    At Least Once a Month                    3         4.1

5.    At Least twice a Month                   7         9.5

6.    Rarely                                   6         8.2

      Total                                   73       100.0


Purposes of Internet Usage

Data show that 56(77 %) respondents use internet for "Research", followed by 51(70 %) for "Education" purposes (Table 24).
Table 24: Purposes of Internet Usage (N=73)

S.No  Purposes       Frequency  Percentage

1.    Education             51        70.0

2.    Research              56        77.0

3.    Entertainment         29        40.0

4.    News                  27        37.0

5.    Sports                 7        10.0

6.    Other                  3         4.1

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Availability of Internet Facility

Majority of them 53(73%) avail this facility at "Home", followed by 44(60.2%) at their "Offices" (Table 25).
Table 25: Availability of Internet Facility (N=73)

S.No  Place            Frequency  Percentage

1.    College Library          7        10.0

2.    Office                  44        60.2

3.    Home                    53        73.0

4.    Internet Cafe            2         3.0

5.    Any Other                3         4.1

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Internet Search Engines

Google was the most preferred search engine followed by Yahoo (Table 26).
Table No. 26: Search Engines (N=73)

S.No  Search Engines  Frequency  Percentage

1.    Google.com             68        93.1

2.    Yahoo.com              44        60.2

3.    MSN.com                12        16.4

4.    Other                   3         4.1

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Electronic Communication (e-mail)

The response rate indicates that out of 86 respondents 73(85%) were using e-mail for communication (Table 27).
Table No. 27: Email Communication (N=86)

S.No  Options  Frequency  Percentage

1.    Yes             73        85.0

2.    No              13        15.0

      Total           86       100.0


Frequency of Email Communication

Of 73 respondents 43(59%) use email for communication on "Daily" basis (Table 28)
Table No. 28: Email Communication Frequency (N=73)

S.No  Frequency   Frequency  Percentage

1.    Daily              43        59.0

2.    Some Times         17        23.2

3.    Rarely             13        18.0

      Total              73       100.0


Availability of Internet Facility in Law Colleges' Libraries

Law faculty members were asked to provide an assessment of internet facility in their respective Law colleges' libraries. Out of 86 respondents 44(51.2%) have internet facility in their respective Law colleges' libraries and 42(48.8%) have no such facility (Table 29).
Table No 29: Internet Facility in Law College Library (N 86)

S.No  Options  Frequency  Percent

1.    Yes             44     51.2

2.    No              42     48.8

      Total           86    100.0


Internet Facility in Law Colleges' Libraries

Of 44 faculty members, 18(41%) were satisfied with internet provision and the rest were dissatisfied (Table 30).
Table 30: Internet Facility

S.No  Level         Frequency  Percentage

1.    Satisfied            18        41.0

2.    Dissatisfied         26        59.0

      Total                44       100.0


Law Library Services and Facilities

This section made an examination of the law colleges' libraries services and facilities. Questions were also included about library staff attitude.

Law Library Services

Respondents were asked to provide an overall assessment of their Law libraries' services in meeting their information needs properly. Of 86 respondents, 38(44.2%) were satisfied and 25 (29.1%) were satisfied to "Some Extent" whereas 21(39.4%) perceived it "Unsatisfactory" (Table 31).
Table 31: Assessment of Law Library Services

S.No  Assessment      Frequency  Percent

1.    Yes                    38     44.2

2.    No                     21     24.4

3.    To some extent         25     29.1

4.    Don't Know              2      2.3

      Total                  86    100.0


Purposes of Using Law Colleges' Libraries

Majority of the respondents 55(64%) use it for "Borrowing Books and Journals", followed by "Reading News Papers", and "Library Materials", (Table 32).
Table 32: Purposes of Using Law Colleges' Libraries (N=86)

S.No  Purposes                        Frequency  Percentage

1.    To Borrow Books and Journals           55        64.0

2.    For Reading Library Materials          20        23.3

3.    As a Place of Study to Study            1         1.2
      Own Reading Materials

4.    To Carry Out Literature Search         10        11.6
      Consulting Reference Materials

5.    For Reading Newspapers                 33        38.4

6.    For Meeting Friends                     7         8.1

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Responses Regarding the Attitude of Library Staff

An important question was asked regarding the perception of law faculty members about the attitude of library staff in dealing with them. This question was added to discover faculty members opinions about the personal attitude and behavior of library staff and the manner in which services are extended to them. The response rate reflected a positive view of helpfulness, 55(68%) faculty members replied that they were always very "Helpful and Friendly". At the same time 7(9%) criticized them of being very busy but helpful (Table 33).
Table 33: Responses Regarding the Attitude of Library Staff (N=81)


S.No  Attitude of Library Staff         Number  Percentage

1.    Always Very Helpful and Friendly      55        68.0

2.    Helpful But Often Busy                 7         9.0

3.    Don't know                            19        23.4

      Total                                 81       100.0


Timely Provision of Information

Law faculty members were asked about the timely provision of information to support their educational and research requirements. The response rate was satisfactory, out of 81 respondents, 32(40%) were satisfied with the timely provision of information, 38(44.2%) showed their satisfaction to some extent, whereas 11(12.8%) faculty members showed their complete dissatisfaction over it in their respective Law colleges' libraries (Table 34).
Table 34: Provision of Information

S.No  Options         Frequency  Percent

1.    Yes                    32     40.0

2.    No                     11     13.0

3.    To some extent         38     47.0

      Total                  81    100.0


Problems in Information Seeking

Results indicated that out of 81 faculty members 18(20.9%) showed complete satisfaction as they had never faced any problem in using their law colleges' libraries. Thirty eight (44.2%) mentioned problems while using their colleges' libraries, whereas 25(29.1%) showed partial satisfaction regarding the problems they have faced and answered "to some extent". Results also showed that most 51(36.1%) of the respondents mentioned "Required Material is not Available" as problem number one, followed by "Some Materials are Old" 37(26.2%) (Table 35).
Table 35: Problems in Information Seeking (N=86)

S.No  Problems                         Number  Percentage

1.    Material is not available            51        36.1

2.    Library Staff are unwilling for       0           0
      service

3.    Inadequate Information                7           4
      Material

4.    Lack of Time                         22          15

5.    Do not know how to use the            2         1.4
      Catalogue

6.    Lack of knowledge in using the       13         9.2
      library

7.    Information is scattered in too       5         3.5
      many sources

8.    Information is too vast               4         2.8

9.    Some information materials are       37        26.2
      old

10.   Any other                             0           0

Note: Respondents were asked to tick more than one option


Conclusion and Discussion

This study investigated the information needs and seeking behavior of the law faculty members of the Law College, University of Peshawar and its seventeen affiliated law colleges. It was found that the respondents use a variety of legal information sources for academic and research purposes. Legal textbooks, general books, and references sources were considered most important. The majority of the law faculty members prefer information in print format and English language. Most of them do their information seeking activities at home. They use computer and internet in their search for information, retrieval and email communication. The majority of the law faculty members were not satisfied with collection sources, resources and IT facilities in their libraries. They complained about the outdated stock, unavailability of required materials, insufficient provision of computers and internet services in their law colleges' libraries. They visit law colleges' libraries for reading newspapers or borrowing books on daily basis. It is interesting to note that although the respondents were utilizing their law colleges' libraries collections they have also developed personal collection to work as a quick reference for instant information needs. A significant number of respondents appreciated the cooperative attitude of the library staff for their helpfulness.

Globalization has boosted the adoption of legal research tools and its application. The provision of specialized legal resources and online legal databases can make the information easily accessible to the law faculty members. Therefore electronic resources are considered extremely important for effective legal research and teaching. The University of Peshawar and its affiliated law colleges are suggested to provide best library, computer and internet facilities in the law colleges and plane electronic information sources and resources for their libraries. Law librarians can also make some efforts to assess their teaching communities' information needs and plane better user oriented services and develop effective library collection to help law faculty members in their information needs and seeking.

References

Bhatti, R. (2009). Information needs and information seeking behavior of faculty member at the Islamia University of Bahawalpur. Library Philosophy and Practice, November, 2009

Bhatti, R., Asghar, M., Mukhtar, S. & Chohan, T. (2011). Internet use by social scientist in Bahauddin Zakariya University, Multan. Library Philosophy and Practice, November, 2011

Foster, A.E. (2005). A non-linear model of information seeking behaviour Information Research, 10(2) paper 222. Retrieved from http://InformationR.net/ir/10-2/paper222.html in November, 2009

Khan, S., Bhatti, R. & Khan, G. (2011). Information seeking behavior of Lawyers in Bahawalpur City: A survey. Library Philosophy and Practice, November, 2011

Majid, S., and Kassim, G. M. (2000). Information-seeking behavior of International Islamic University Malaysia Law Faculty Members. Malaysian Journal of Library & information science, 5 (2): 1-17. Retrieved May, 25, 2009 from http://majlis.fsktm.um.edu.my/document.aspx?FileName=157.pdf

Makri, S. (2007). Studying academic lawyers' information seeking to inform the design of digital law libraries. TCDl Bulletin, 3(3), 1-11. Retrieved in November, 2009 from http://www.ieeetcdl.org/Bulletin/v3n3/makri/makri.html

Nasreen, M. (2006), Information needs and information seeking behavior of media practitioners in Karachi, (Unpublished PhD. dissertation), Department of Library and Information science, University of Karachi, Pakistan

Nnadozie, C.O., and Nnadozie, C.D. (2008).The information needs of faculty members in a Nigerian private university: A self-study. Library Philosophy and Practice. Retrieved from http://unllib.unl.edu/LPP/nnadozie.htm on July, 15, 2009

Sathe, S.P. (1989) Access to legal education and the legal profession in India in R.Dhavan, N.Kibble and W.Twinner (eds.) Access to Legal Education and Legal Profession, p.165, New Delhi: Lawyers Club India

Thanuskodi, S. (2009). Information-seeking behavior of law faculty at central law college, Salem. Library Philosophy and Practice (June), 1-8. Retrieved from http://www.webpages.uidaho.edu/~mbolin/thanuskodi-legal.htm on November 10, 2009

Ghalib Khan

Islamia University, Bahawalpur

Rubina Bhatti

Islamia University, Bahawalpur, dr.rubytariq@gmail.com

Khan, Ghalib and Bhatti, Rubina, "Information Needs and Seeking Behavior of Law Faculty Members: A Survey of the University of Peshawar and its Affiliated Law Colleges" (2012). Library Philosophy and Practice (e-journal). Paper 786.

http://digitalcommons.unl.edu/libphilprac/786

Ghalib Khan

PhD Scholar

Department of Library and Information Science

Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan

Dr. Rubina Bhatti

Coordinator MPhil

Department of Library and Information Science

Islamia University of Bahawalpur, Pakistan

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